New skin cell treatment offers new hope to MS patients

London, Feb. 9 (ANI): A patient's own skin could be used to repair the damage caused by multiple sclerosis, which is currently incurable, researchers have claimed.

A team of researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Centre used advances in stem-cell research to attempt to repair the myelin, a protein that nerves insulate themselves with, the BBC reported.

They took a human skin cell sample and converted it into stem cells -capable of becoming any other type of cell in the body.

The next step was to transform the stem cells into immature versions of brain cells, which produce myelin.

According to the researchers, when these cells were injected into mice born without any myelin it had a significant effect.

However, patients suffering from multiple sclerosis are still going to have the problem of their immune system attacking their myelin.

Another treatment would need to be used alongside other therapies for taming the immune system - or would need to be repeatedly performed.

The animal tests have been published in the journal Cell Stem Cell. (ANI)